Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath has issued a written message to the public standing firmly against a police union's call for his resignation and reaffirming his pledge for a thorough, fair and transparent administrative review of the Nov. 29 high-speed police chase and shooting that left two suspects dead.

In his statement, dated Feb. 7, McGrath acknowledged that public debate surrounding the shooting has intensified since Monday, when Attorney General Mike DeWine delivered the results of the state's criminal investigation of the case and declared that the event was a result of a "systemic failure" of the police department. (Read the Chief'sMessage.pdf here.)

The results of that investigation are now in the hands of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty, who will review the report and present it to a grand jury.

At a news conference following DeWine's statements, McGrath denied that a system-wide failure occurred. He lauded the city's policies and procedures, adding that the question is whether officers followed them. If not, they will face consequences, McGrath said.

Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Jeffery Follmer said in an interview Friday that the chief's comments contributed to an overall sense among the rank and file that McGrath does not support his officers. Morale is low within the department, Follmer said, and the chief is losing the respect of his charges.

Follmer reiterated his position that the dozens of officers who chased suspects Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams -- and the officers who shot and killed them -- were operating under "unusual circumstances" that warranted a departure from the departmental policy limiting pursuits to the involvement of only two police cruisers.

He said he expects the administrative review to find fault with the officers' actions, however, because McGrath is under political pressure to do so.

In his statement, McGrath promised full support to his officers if the city's internal review finds they did not violate city policies, and he said he will not draw any conclusions until the review is complete. He extended sympathy to those involved, and said he has "not forgotten what it is like to be a patrol officer or a detective or a supervisor."

"I am the same Mike McGrath today as I was then and I'll be the same Mike McGrath tomorrow," he wrote. "I know how difficult police work is and how much incidents like that which occurred on November 29th affect our community, our families and our officers."

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